Need Quick Answer for Little Mounted Orchid

[HiOrcDen]

I just bought a tiny orchid mounted on wood, with moss holding it. I am to keep it moist.

Care sheet says to use distilled water. Could this be substituted with water that has been left out a day, or even just a couple hours? Could distilled also be water from a drinking water filter/purifier installed in a kitchen? Or is tap water that has been in a spray bottle for over a day be okay? Could I even boil water? I can't get to the market now to buy distilled water... Thanks in advance! I am hoping to get a quick answer lol!

[Dimples]

In terms of a direct substitution, none of the options you mentioned will come close to the purity of distilled or reverse osmosis water. Leaving water out overnight isn’t going to change the chemistry of the minerals dissolved in the water. Boiling isn’t going to do much either.

That said, I would assume that most orchids that require very pure water would be ok getting “regular” water for a while. Especially if you have no other option. I don’t grow sensitive species though. What type of orchid is it?

[estación seca]

Tiny cloud forest orchids need water very low in dissolved minerals. Your tap water isn't. There is no way to remove minerals from water other than distillation or reverse osmosis.

Most will tolerate a watering or two of mineral laden water.

[HiOrcDen]

Originally Posted by Dimples

In terms of a direct substitution, none of the options you mentioned will come close to the purity of distilled or reverse osmosis water. Leaving water out overnight isn’t going to change the chemistry of the minerals dissolved in the water. Boiling isn’t going to do much either.

That said, I would assume that most orchids that require very pure water would be ok getting “regular” water for a while. Especially if you have no other option. I don’t grow sensitive species though. What type of orchid is it?

I do not know the common name! Here is the scientific... Bulbophyllum Electrinum VAR Calvum. It is a miniature species.

I'm wondering, will it remain somewhat moist over night? The care sheet says use a pot if needed to maintain humidity, 50-70%. Do they mean to keep it wood mounted in a pot, maybe using it like a humidity tray? If not, what does the sheet mean by that, putting it in a pot?

---------- Post added at 09:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:31 PM ----------

Originally Posted by estación seca

Tiny cloud forest orchids need water very low in dissolved minerals. Your tap water isn't. There is no way to remove minerals from water other than distillation or reverse osmosis.

Most will tolerate a watering or two of mineral laden water.

Thank you for this. I will get to the supermarket tomorrow. So as far as distilled of reverse osmosis, are either of these processes practical to perform for oneself? Maybe only worth it once you have a large collection?

[estación seca]

Most plant specialists use Latin names only so there will be no confusion. Not many orchids have common names.

This one will be OK with tap water for a short while.

Most Bulbophyllums are wet-growing plants that do best never drying out. Not many epiphytic orchids like being as wet as Bulbos. They range in size from quite large species to tiny. It's hard to keep tiny ones alive mounted in a typical house without watering 1-2 times daily, and even then they may struggle. I myself don't grow any Bulbos mounted. They do far, far better for me in low wet pots. If I buy them mounted I put them into pots.

Even master Bulbophyllum grower Bill Thoms wrote in his book that almost all of them grow far better for him in shallow pots than mounted.

They have shorter roots than most orchids and the plants ramble to a varying extent, so shallow, wide containers work well. For this one I would suggest keeping it on that mount while you take a few days to decide what to do long-term. Get it wet, let it stop dripping, then set the mount inside a jar with the lid open a crack so the humidity stays up. Don't put it into the sun or it will cook.

I use low, wide containers like plastic food containers or plastic trays. I drill one or two small holes with a Dreml tool on one side about an inch / 2.5cm above the bottom. This forms a reservoir so the container doesn't dry out.

I add a layer of hydroponic clay balls called LECA deep enough to be just over the holes. You can buy this at hydroponics stores. There is dust in the package so rinse it before using.

I cover the LECA with a blanket of moist sphagnum moss about 1-1.5 inches thick. I nestle the Bulbo into the sphagnum.

I water regularly with low-mineral content water and fertilize regularly. The moss takes up water from the LECA, which stays always moist.

Another option is to put it into a clay pot with loosely packed sphagnum moss and stand it in a dish that always contains some water. You could probably use fine orchid bark too, but I don't use it for such wet-growing plants. It breaks down rapidly under these conditions.

For this tiny plant a 4-6 ounce low plastic food container such as used for salsa might work. A 6-8 ounce / 170-225ml yogurt cup is taller than necessary but could be used.

You just missed a rain collecting opportunity! That is at least as good as distilled or reverse osmosis water. I collect rain and use it on my orchids.

While you only have a few plants, it's probably easier to buy distilled or purified water. Many specialty aquarium shops sell reverse osmosis water for less money per gallon than the distilled or drinking water at the supermarket. Bring your own clean 5-gallon bucket with lid. If you decide to get a fair number of orchids you can get an under-the-sink reverse osmosis unit.

[camille1585]

Originally Posted by HiOrcDen

I do not know the common name! Here is the scientific... Bulbophyllum Electrinum VAR Calvum. It is a miniature species.

I'm wondering, will it remain somewhat moist over night? The care sheet says use a pot if needed to maintain humidity, 50-70%. Do they mean to keep it wood mounted in a pot, maybe using it like a humidity tray? If not, what does the sheet mean by that, putting it in a pot?

This could mean to stick the base of the mount in a pot. There is someone here who has done this, for a Dendrobium mount I think. The base of the mount was set in a pot filled with sphagnum moss, and the sphag was kept damp. The moisture then transfers to the mount which helps keep some moisture around the roots between waterings.

[DirtyCoconuts]

Boil water and collect steam. Emergency as it is a huge pain in the A

[Roberta]

Zero Water filter system will give you pure water, basically it's a deionizer. Other filter types such as Britta do not remove minerals. Or buy a bottle of purified water (distilled, deionized and reverse osmosis are similar - they remove the minerals)

A day or two of tap water won't hurt it - keeping it moist is important, a day of drying out is much worse than a day of less-that-ideal water. This type of Bulbo actually does very well mounted .

Will you be keeping it in a terrarium or similar "closed" environment? It is a relatively cool-growing Bulbo so warmth isn't particularly an issue, and it wants low light, But humidity is important for it,

[Arizona Jeanie]

I buy r/o water at a machine in a grocery store. 35 cents/gallon, bring your own container. If you buy a gallon or two in the store, you can refill the container indefinitely at these dispensers.

[Jinh]

I have one of these as well. It’s put out numerous new growths, and I’m pretty certain just started it’s first flower spike. I’ve had it just over a year.

I keep it inside an aquarium/terrarium. The humidity stays around 70. I try to mostly keep it moist, but sometimes it does dry out. I use rain water when I have it, but also it does fine with tap. My tap is around 8 for pH and medium hard with about 150 ppm.